CardioFocus Strengthens Commercial Team with Appointments of Chief Commercial Officer and Vice President of U.S. Sales

MARLBOROUGH, Mass., Oct. 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- CardioFocus, Inc. today announced the appointment of Omari Bouknight as Chief Commercial Officer and Jeff Rynbrandt as Vice President of U.S. Sales. Together they will lead the commercialization of the HeartLight® Endoscopic Ablation System, which was recently FDA-approved for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF), in the U.S. while expanding the U.S. sales field force.

In the newly created role of Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Bouknight will lead and integrate the U.S. and EU commercial teams and oversee the Company's launch efforts. In the newly created role of Vice President of U.S. Sales, Mr. Rynbrandt will be responsible for building and leading a best-in-class domestic field sales force. 

Paul LaViolette, CardioFocus Executive Chairman, said, "We are excited to bring onto our commercial team two highly successful leaders in the cardiology industry. Omari and Jeff bring a combined 30 years of experience leading commercial cardiology launches and sales to CardioFocus. They will be building a revenue ramp from targeted sales of the HeartLight System in the U.S. AF market, which is growing at nearly 20% annually. There are more than 3 million people in the U.S. and more than 33 million worldwide who suffer from AF, and we expect this number to increase given the growing elderly population. HeartLight is very well positioned to assist physicians that treat these patients."

Prior to joining CardioFocus, Mr. Bouknight held the role of Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Cardiac Dimensions, an early stage cardiovascular company with a novel mitral valve repair system. Under his leadership, the Carillon® Mitral Contour System® became the leading transcatheter mitral annuloplasty device.  Prior to Cardiac Dimensions, Mr. Bouknight led the highly successful U.S. launch of the HeartMate II® Left Ventricular Assist System® at Thoratec, where he held the role of Business Unit Director. He began his cardiovascular career at Guidant with strategy and sales roles in Cardiac Rhythm Management, working directly with electrophysiologists. Mr. Bouknight received his Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and his Bachelor's degrees from Michigan State University.

Before joining CardioFocus, Mr. Rynbrandt built and led cohesive sales teams to success within a variety of electrophysiology markets. He has held various leadership roles in sales and marketing at Boston Scientific, and has extensive experience in new product launches. Prior to his 14-year sales career with Boston Scientific, Mr. Rynbrandt served more than six years as an Officer in the United States Army in multiple command and leadership positions. He earned a Master of Business Administration from Michigan State University and his Bachelor's degree from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

About the HeartLight® Endoscopic Ablation System
The HeartLight® Endoscopic Ablation System is a unique catheter ablation technology designed for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, the most common heart arrhythmia. The HeartLight® System's direct visualization, titratable laser energy, and compliant balloon design make durable pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) control more accessible than ever. In the United States, the HeartLight® System was approved for use in April 2016 by the FDA and is indicated for the treatment of drug refractory recurrent symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation. The HeartLight® System consists of the HeartLight® Catheter, Endoscope, Balloon Fill Media and HeartLight® Console.  

The approved PMA submission for the HeartLight® System contained comprehensive safety and effectiveness data from the Company's multi-center HeartLight® U.S. Pivotal Clinical Study, a randomized, controlled trial in which a total of 353 participants were randomized at 19 leading arrhythmia centers across the United States.

HeartLight® has been in use in Europe since receiving CE Mark in 2009.

About CardioFocus, Inc.
CardioFocus, Inc. is a medical device manufacturer dedicated to advancing ablation treatment for cardiac disorders such as atrial fibrillation (AF). The HeartLight® Endoscopic Ablation System is commercially available at leading institutions throughout Europe and now in the United States. CardioFocus is headquartered in Marlborough, MA, USA.  For more information on the company and its technology, please visit www.CardioFocus.com.

Company Contact:
Renny Clark
Chief Financial Officer
(508) 658-7281
[email protected]

Media Contacts:
Kirsten Thomas / Christopher Hippolyte
(508) 280-6592 / (646) 536-7023
[email protected]
[email protected] 

SOURCE CardioFocus, Inc.

Related Links

http://www.cardiofocus.com